Loftus History
Sword Dancers
**Recent additions**
Sword dancing in pictures
School Days
Newspaper Cuttings
WW2
Loftus People
Scrap Book by Noel Agar
Weddings
Paddy Waddells Railway
Duties of a Country Policeman
Derick Pearson Collection
Sporting events
Notices
General Photographs of Loftus
Skinningrove
Mining
Liverton
Entertainment
Liverton 1891 Census
More recent photographs of Loftus
Ralph Jackson's Diaries
For King & Country
Tracing Family History
Deaths & Memorials
1891 census Individual houses & farms
Zetland Terrace
Zetland Road
Westfield Terrace
West Road
Cliff Crescent
High Row (West Lofthouse)
Hartington Street
St Hilda's Terrace
Duncan Place
High Street
Arlington Street
East Crescent
Spring Head
Cleveland Street
North Road
John Street
East Street
Gladstone Street
Seymour Hill Terrace
Park Terrace
North Terrace
Street Houses
Arthur Fields
Upton
Micklehow Road
Whitecliffe Mines Houses
Railway Terrace
Dundas Street
Church Row
Dam Street
South Loftus
Station Road
Liverton Road
St Hildas Place
Westry Terrace
Rowland Terrace
Tees Street
Whitby Road
Tyne Street
Sword Dancers from the area
Tweed Street
Jackson Street
Easington Road
Waupley
Away Days & Holidays
Loftus District Olde Tyme Dance Club
Cinemas and entertainmernt
Links for Loftus History
Message Board
Guestbook
Mail Form
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Loftus Mine Drift
 | Here is a photo taken at Loftus Mine Drift.
Seated front left 3rd back is Robert Harker born 1874 Rosedale Yorks.
4th back is Robert Harrison (Gordon's Grandfather) born 1868, East Barnby, died 14.8.1921 Loftus.
Right side of photo coming down steps
3rd down right hand side Thomas Harker, born 1868 Kirby Moorside, died 1938 Loftus.
If anyone can name anyone else on the photo, or date it, Please contact us using the mail form on the left.
Thank you
Kindly contributed by Freda & Gordon Harrison.
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Loftus Mining
Link to Loftus mining
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David Taylor Journal
 | very interesting life story written by David Taylor.
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Loftus Mine
The Discovery of Ironstone
Samuel Frederick Okey was looking for ironstone pieces on the beach at Skinningrove in 1847 when a man, Anthony Lax Maynard, told him that there was a seam of ironstone on some land that he owned. A friend of Samuel Okey agreed to work the stone but he soon sold the lease to Messrs Roseby for a glass of brandy and water! Messrs Roseby started to mine at Skinningrove on 7 August 1848. The ironstone was hauled by horses along a short railway to a jetty where it was taken to Middlesbrough by boat.
continued using link below
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Alum Mining in Loftus
Alum was necessary to “fix” dyes (all vegetable in early days) in cloth, and for centuries it had come from Italy. After the reformation this supply was cut off Sir Thomas Chaloner, a local land owner, persuaded two Italians to come to England to see if any could be found here.
It was not easy to get the Alum salt out of the shale, first it had to be burned for as long as six months and then leached with water. This produced a solution of aluminium and Iron sulphates and Alum is a double sulphate containing potassium or ammonium as well as aluminium, so potassium, obtained in those days by burning masses of seaweed or ammonium derived from urine, had to be added.
Finally the alum had to be induced to crystallise out of the solution without the Iron sulphate being dissolved in it, this was done by heating the solution to drive off some of the water and concentrate the salts.
When the concentration was just right, Alum crystals would form as the solution cooled.
The industry developed rapidly along the coast from Saltburn south to Ravenscar.
At its peak in 1768 over 4000 tons were produced, and it took 12 tons of shale to produce a ton of Alum and at least three times as much rock had to be removed to get at the shale band, this was done with pick axe, shovel and wheelbarrow.
The scars are still visible today.
Taken from the diary of Ralph Jackson.
In 1754 Ralph Ward of Guisborough became a partner with Mr Baker and they owned a third of the Loftus Alum mine. Mr Stephenson was the clerk, and Mr Wardle the manager.
On the death of Ralph Ward his share was left to his Nephew Ralph Jackson.
In 1759 the Sloop 'The Darling' was loaded with 40 ton of Alum and in March 1760 the same Sloop was loaded with 50 tons, which took four hours to load, this was sold at the price of twelve shillings and sixpence a ton with one months credit.
Later Mr George Dodds became the manager.
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Street Houses
 | Silent and deserted stand the empty cottages which formed the hamelt of Street Houses.
Historical hamlet will be no more
The Roman Road runs through the centre of the hamlet of Street Houses, which lies about a mile from Loftus, but after this week-end the hamlet will be completely deserted.
It has been decided that the ten cottages have served their purpose and already the residents of nine have moved out to other accommodation.
The picturesque stone-built cottages stand in a district which abounds with historical interest. They have seen smuggling, the nearby alum works in production, and later some of their residents worked in the Ironstone mines.
Empty and Gone
Only a short distance away the four cottages at Micklow are also standing empty, and nearby Gallihowe - a well known name in the district comprising a house and cottage formerly used by the manager and foreman of the alum works - is now no more.
Only a few yards away stands Street Farm, where Mr. W. Garbutt is the fith member of his family to hold the tenancy - they have been there for 130 years. The farm of course will remain, but Mr. Garbutt said: "This used to be a lovely little village, and in years gone by each cottager kept a cow, poultry and a pig".
He views the change with regret. Formerly he had house-holders in the immediate vicinity. Now with the exception of his sister Mrs. Mary Campbell, the lst resident in Street Houses, the hamlet is deserted, with grass already growing in the cottage gardens.
Will feel 'shut in'
Born at Street Farm, Mrs Campbell has lived at Street Houses all her life, and in the present cottage for 27 years.
On Monday, with her husband, their two sons and daughter, she will be moving to a council house on the new Easington estate. The move is also viewed with reget by Mrs. Campbell, who said: "After living here all my life I think I am going to feel 'shut in' on the estate."
at the entrance to the hamlet stands a large building, with the inscription on the front: "Primitive Methodist Chapel AD 1872". It is now used as a shed for farm implements.
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Local History
 | It's cold these days in the silent, undulating countryside just back from the cliff top near Loftus. Cold, even for the four lonely men who are out there every day making rubble out of the decaying homes that are linked with the Romans.
They are linked with those ancient warriors, if only because the Roman road curls its way across the country, dips down into the hamlet of fast-disappearing cottages and surges up over mighty Boulby to disappear on its journey southwards.
Soon there will be only a big heap of rubble, a few stacks of stones and bricks that are worthy of salvage and a thick new wall providing a fresh boundry to a field.
Almost bare handed these four men are pulling apart the hamlet of Street Houses, a deserted community on the fringe of the Zetland Estate. It's a comparatively easy job. The thick sandstone walls that look firm are held weakly together with mortar that has collapsed with the passage of time.
The Coldest
One of the four is Mr John Linsey, of Loftus, who has helped rip off the roofs of eight houses so far. He was getting rid of some of the tons of stone, tiles and rubbish yesterday... and even if it's heavy work, he was wearing his top coat. "This is the coldest place there is" he said.
It will be a few weeks yet before Street Houses is completely a thing of the past, a few weeks before the wet walls, the rotting window frames and the timber that saw better days before woodworm called in, have been hauled apart.
But, Already, the Garbutt family feels the change. It is a few months since the other people in Street Houses moved out in preparation for the day the Zetland Estate demolition crew would arrive, but the Garbuttts are still not used to their absence.
The Garbutts have been at Street Farm for 130 years, and the present tenant Mr W. Garbutt, is the fifth member of the family to farm it.
Today, he finds it strange. "Everyone was so neighbourly" he told me. "You know what village life is like, and now it's gone."
Mr Garbutt wanted to buy the village. He had hoped to modernise those little homes and make Street Houses a model village. I would have hated to tackle it.
But Mr Garbutt didn't get the chance. As a result, Street Houses will soon be as dead as the Romans.
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Street Houses
 | A few shovels, two barrows, a steel rod, acouple of hefty picks and the power of four pairs of arms. That's all that is needed to remove a village standing where history abounds.
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